There’s some good news for Pirate fans that broke last night that you’d be forgiven for not noticing until this morning: Dejan Kovacevic is reporting that the club is discussing an extension with Andrew McCutchen. That’s pretty much all there is in the way of details right now. McCutchen says he’d be “willing to be [in Pittsburgh]” for the rest of his career (he goes on to say nicer things about Pittsburgh and the team) while Frank Coonelly declines comment (surprise!).
The only other bit of information in the story is this one, from Kovacevic:
The most likely type of extension would be one that carries McCutchen through next season, plus his three arbitration years. He still would be eligible for free agency in 2016, based on his current status.
I can’t tell if that’s based on information he has or a guess, but I really hope he’s wrong. As Charlie points out, the main motivation for the Pirates to make a deal like this with a player like McCutchen is to keep him under control for at least a couple of his first free agent seasons.
I’m sort of hoping the Pirates make a deal like the Reds just made with Jay Bruce. Bruce is signed for six-years/$51 million, which takes him through his first free agent season in 2016, plus the Reds have a $13 million option on him for 2017. If the Pirates can’t get a year or two tacked on after his arbitration years, they’re doing very little other than buying cost certainty for themselves. Obviously that’s important for a team in the Pirates’ position, but it wouldn’t be a lot to get excited about, either.
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